NCF On The Trail: Chuma Edoga

The newest and final ESPN 300 was released on Thursday, and eight Pac-12 programs are represented by 34 commitments. Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington and Washington State all have multiple commitments in the list, with USC's 12 leading the way, followed by Oregon's six. Here are some news and notes regarding the most recent update and how things stack up in the Pac-12.

Pac-12 fields will be littered with early enrollees this spring, as prospects look to get a jump on acclimating themselves to the rigors of being a student-athlete at the college level. While every year there are true freshmen who enroll in the fall and become immediate impact players, there is no denying that an extra semester on and off the field gives those recruits who enroll early an advantage when it comes to making impacts their first year. Here is a look at five Pac-12 early enrollees:

USC lost an opportunity to play for the Pac-12 title with a late-season loss to UCLA, but it has a chance to finish off the final year of NCAA-imposed sanctions with a nine-win season, which would give the Trojans a boost heading into the first signing day since 2011 in which they are able to sign a full allotment of 25 prospects.

From USC’s bounce-back win over Notre Dame, to a Territorial Cup victory, to a big visitor list on the Palouse, recruits were in attendance at the Pac-12’s rivalry games this past weekend and shared their experiences through social media.

Trojans' time to shine

After suffering a significant defeat at the Rose Bowl last weekend, as UCLA took control of Los Angeles in front of dozens of local recruits, USC needed a big performance against Notre Dame on Saturday. Five out-of-state official visitors were in attendance, along with a number of local unofficial visitors from the 2015 and 2016 classes.

Defensive tackle Tim Settle, the nation’s No. 17 prospect, made his way across the country and provided his view of the Staples Center from his hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

There was a strong Utah presence at the game, as ESPN 300 athlete Porter Gustin was scheduled to be in attendance on an unofficial visit, and 2016 wide receiver Simi Fehoko -- who already holds offers from Clemson and Utah and could wind up as one of the state's most highly recruited prospects next year -- tweeted that he was in attendance as well.

Of course, it wouldn't be a USC game without ESPN 300 quarterback, and USC commit, Ricky Town on hand. Town was joined by fellow ESPN 300 prospect and Trojans commitment Chuma Edoga, along with 2016 ESPN 300 prospects Frank Martin II and Javon McKinley in this photo.

Martin II and McKinley will be interesting prospects to keep an eye on for next season, as both put together tremendous junior seasons and have been reeling in offers. Martin already holds offers from Arkansas, LSU, Miami and Syracuse, nationally, along with several Pac-12 offers. McKinley is part of a terrific 2016 class of receivers in California, and holds offers from Arizona State, Cal, UCLA and Washington State. While an offer from USC might not finish the recruiting process for either, it could prove to be big down the line.

The Trojans also hosted ESPN 300 wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown on an unofficial visit. St. Brown is looking hard at Notre Dame and Utah, as well as USC.

Arizona will begin to put together more significant official visit weekends after the season, but the Wildcats had several unofficial visitors on hand for their biggest game of the season -- a rivalry game that clinched a spot in the conference championship game.

Offensive tackle Keenan Walker, the No. 48 prospect in the country and an Arizona commitment, was at the game and took a moment to send a simple message to the in-state rival.

Oregon walked away with a win in the Civil War, but Oregon State hopes it did enough during the weekend to sway several important official visitors. In addition to committed quarterback James Pensyl, the Beavers hosted four-star running back Paul Lucas, three-star defensive tackle Benning Potoae and three-star wide receiver Lavan Alston on official visits. All four, along with several other visitors are featured in this tweet from Pensyl.

Washington State's season hasn't gone exactly the way the Cougars envisioned at the beginning of the year, but that hasn't stopped them from bringing in some big name official visitors during the season.

This past weekend, the Cougars had another ESPN 300 prospect on campus, as defensive tackle Adam McLean, a former Penn State commitment and the nation's No. 90 overall prospect, took his official visit.

USC recruiting is in need of a significant shot in the arm after the Trojans’ performance at the Rose Bowl this past weekend. But the good news for USC fans is that the Trojans are in position to do just that, thanks to a handful of significant visitors who will be in town to watch USC host Notre Dame.

This weekend presents a slight departure from USC’s official visit plans for the past few years. In fact, the five official visitors scheduled this weekend appear to be more than USC hosted on in-season official visits during the 2012, 2013 and 2014 recruiting classes combined.

There have been some interesting names linked to the Florida opening, but several coaches believe Marshall's Doc Holliday could be a good recruiting fit in Gainesville. Plus, many expected ESPN 300 OT Chuma Edoga to flip from USC to Georgia, but it looks like the Trojans have won the battle in the end.

There is no more fertile recruiting ground for Pac-12 programs than Southern California, and when it comes to that area’s recruits, there is no more important game than UCLA-USC. While this game doesn’t always predict the program that will end up with the better recruiting class, it certainly gives the victor more recruiting momentum than any other game on the schedule. Saturday marks an important date for both programs, as the game will take place in front of some of the Southland’s top recruits, as well as more than a handful of out-of-state visitors.

A UCLA win would give the Bruins three straight in the series and give the coaches some significant ammunition to discuss going into the final months of the recruiting calendar. A USC win, on the other hand, would give head coach Steve Sarkisian an opportunity to boast that the Trojans ceased all the Bruins’ forward momentum in his first year on the job despite a depleted roster.

It’s always entertaining when these two programs get together on the field, and fun to take a look behind the scenes at a few factors that led to the makeup of these rosters, and factors that will help set up future clashes between the Los Angeles programs. Here we take a look at what kind of impact the 2014 class is already making, and what 2015 recruits could be in line to do the same next year.

As always there was a ton of recruiting news from around the Southeastern Conference. Florida head coach Will Muschamp announced he will step down from his position at the end of the season, there were key visits and new offers over the weekend. Here's a closer look at the top recruiting news from around the conference.

The Mississippi State at Alabama game looks to be loaded with big-time visitors. Georgia is also expecting several ESPN 300 prospects for its game against Auburn and Florida is hoping continue its momentum against South Carolina in front of several recruits. Here’s a closer look at some of the top visitors in the SEC this weekend.

Several Pac-12 commitments and prospects saw some significant movement in the updated ESPN 300 rankings released Wednesday. Overall, the conference holds commitments from two of the top 22 prospects in the country and 26 of the top 300. With fewer than four months until signing day, let's take a look at where the Pac-12 stands in the ESPN 300.

At the halfway point of college football's regular season, there is still plenty to be decided both on the field and on the recruiting trail. The Pac-12 placed six programs among the top 40 recruiting classes in Wednesday's updated class rankings and conference recruiting classes contain as many as 24 -- Arizona -- and as few as nine -- Stanford -- commitments. This update offers a look at where each Pac-12 South program stands with its 2015 recruiting class, including its top prospect and position of strength, as well as a look at where things are going well for each class.

Pac-12 programs loaded up on visitors this weekend and the conference delivered three thrilling finishes on Saturday. The only weekend game in the conference decided by more than one score was USC's blowout win against Oregon State, which came at a perfect time for the Trojans, as they were able to bounce back in front of a number of important recruits.

Stars are out at USC

The USC Trojans put more than a few eggs into Saturday night's basket, bringing committed recruits Chuma Edoga and Aca'Cedric Ware, along with ESPN 300 wide receiver DaMarkus Lodge in on official visits, and also loading up on unofficial visitors. With a convincing 35-10 victory, the strategy appeared to pay off.

Cedar Hill (Texas) High School was very well represented, as 2016 women's basketball prospect Joyner Holmes made the trip alongside Ware and Lodge.

Five-star cornerback Iman Marshall, the No. 8 overall prospect in the nation, made his way to the game and took a photo alongside Edoga and quarterback Caleb Wilson, the son of USC defensive line coach Chris Wilson.

Like USC, Utah put plenty of effort into bringing in a number of recruits this weekend. Despite the loss to Washington State, the Utes were able to feature wide receiver Kaelin Clay, a junior college receiver, which might have been the perfect recruiting pitch considering they were hosting a trio of junior college receivers in Dede Westbrook, Kyle Fulks and Kinte Hatton.

Prospects in Berkeley were treated to an offensive explosion between Cal and Colorado, where the Golden Bears were able to put on an offensive show in front of official visitor, junior college wide receiver Isaac Whitney.

At the airport getting ready to take my official visit to the University of Cal Berkeley! ???? #D1Bound#Blessed

The biggest game of the weekend in the Pac-12 -- and perhaps the country -- took place Thursday night between UCLA and Arizona State, but that won't stop the conference from putting together a truly remarkable visit weekend. There are four Pac-12 games on Saturday's docket and, though this is normally a top-three list, this week all four are deserving of mention when it comes to important weekend visitors.

In today's lunch break, it's time to take a look at the chances some school unseats Alabama for the nation's top 2015 recruiting class with national signing day 147 days away. When looking at where classes are now, and the likelihood of where many top prospects will potentially land, there are two schools that have a realistic shot to unseat the Crimson Tide -- Georgia and Florida State.

Can Georgia finish No. 1?There is not a program in the country that enjoyed a more fruitful July and August on the recruiting trail than the Bulldogs. With the efforts and momentum created with the hire of Jeremy Pruitt as defensive coordinator, along with the work of the entire staff with an increased presence on social media, Georgia is positioned nicely to make a run for No. 1.

Should the Bulldogs go into Columbia, South Carolina, and beat South Carolina, a 10-win regular season looks like a strong possibility, as well as a huge leg up in getting to the SEC championship game.

The Early Offer is RecruitingNation's regular feature, giving you a daily dose of recruiting news across the country. Today’s offerings: Ohio State and Michigan State likely won’t see any effects of their defeat’s this weekend, but two Big Ten recruiting coordinators believe others like Michigan, Purdue and Northwestern could be hurt by the non-conference losses. Plus, USC should be able to gain some momentum against Stanford after beating the Cardinal. We also continue our tour of the top recruiting happenings on social media.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

On The Trail is ESPN RecruitingNation's home for all the latest news and information. With some of the nation's top recruiting writers contributing, OTT provides the latest details about commitments, visits and other notes to give fans the most comprehensive recruiting news source in the country.